With 48k on my 13 X3 M Sport, I have replaced the Pirelli P Zero Neros with the Continental DWS06.
The rf that came with the vehicle were hard riding summer tires, though very aggressive.
The Pirelli tires stunk. No other way to put it.
Going into the Continental was an immediate noticeable improvement everywhere you would expect from a superior tire.
I will be using these in New England this winter and driving on non maintained dirt and gravel as well as paved road and will update regularly if anyone wishes to follow.
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The Continental DWS 06 is the all-season tire of choice for all of our cars.
I'm sure that you'll enjoy its ride characteristics.
First update. I put 250 miles during the aftermath of the storm we had. I drove a mix of highway and slushy unplowed secondary roads. The temp was 22. Psi is 38 rear and 35 front.
Handling was terrific. The grip is superior to the original rf and the Pirelli tires I was using. Between the stability and traction control along with these tires, I felt always in contact and control. More to follow.
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They are the best all season that we have tested on the 3 Series. While they are not a winter tire they are as good as you can get.
If I can ever help with anything let me know.
My car came with stock Continental run-flat tires, I put almost 60K on them. After reading these forums talking about how good and different these conventional non run-flat tires are, I decided to give it a shot. I bought four Conti Extreme Contact DWS06 tires. I put less than 2000 miles on them. They are not really bad tires but very soft-sided and not very good with cornering. What I disliked about them the most is that they are not very directional at high speed, they wander. Then I asked my tire shop to put Conti run-flats.They did put continental run-flat tires with the same size and speed rating but the tires did not have the BMW's star logo which means it is not BMW approved tires. I put less than 100 miles on them to figure out that they are not the right tires. They did not feel the same as the stock tires because they are made differently, at least they don't weigh the same as the stock tires. Then I asked the tire shop to put BMW approved tires. Now this is what I am talking about, it is the same feeling I got when I took my car out from the dealership for the first time. I knew right away these were the right tires for the suspension system my car has. If you want to enjoy driving your car, try to use the stock tires. I have experienced the both world, I guess three worlds in this case;conventional tires, run-flat tires but not approved by BMW, and run-flat tires approved by BMW. Go for the tires that are approved by your car maker. You won't regret.
Last edited by lovemy328xi; 01-23-2017 at 02:27 PM.
if your car came with runflat, go for run flat. I changed to non runflat. They did not feel the same. Then I decided to go back to runflat tires. But make sure that the tires are approved by BMW. Look for the star logo on tires.
Last edited by lovemy328xi; 01-22-2017 at 04:27 PM.
Whatever floats your boat. Some drivers prefer comfort over harshness.
I am just emphasizing "Drivers are free to make their own choices ".
I am not expecting extreme cornering performance from an all-season tire.
I'm sure track junkies would disagree with your choice of runflats, as well disagree with my choice of all-seasons.
OP will be driving in NewEngland climate, which may differ from yours.
I agree with Jim@TireRack, the best all-season-Continental Extreme DWS 06.
Last edited by MIKYZZ4; 01-22-2017 at 08:44 PM.
I don't think I faced significant trade-off when I switched back to runflats. In fact, my car's driving characteristics improved greatly after putting back the runflats. My DWS06 tires were as noisy as the run flats, seriously, but not as safe and comfortable as the runflats . The only nice thing about the DWS tires is its price. If it worked for me, I would've saved 95 dollars per tire. I am hoping to put 60K miles on my new runflats. It is going to pay off in the lung-run.
Exactly, great quote Jim!
I experienced both the cornering issues from the soft sidewalls and also the wandering at highway speed with my DWS06s. I also had some vibration issues and have had the tires balanced numerous times. I have about 12,000 miles on mine now.
I was able to solve the squirrely feel from the soft sidewalls by increasing the air pressure. I run 38 psi now on my 2002 530i and the rear of the car doesn't feel as loose. I also suggest you get an alignment if you haven't already done so. After being told numerous times that alignment issues don't typically result in steering wheel and seat vibrations, I had another alignment performed as a result of some other work being done on the car and the steering wheel and seat vibrations are much better now. I plan to tweak the air pressures a little more in the future to see if that doesn't help the wandering on the highway. Note that asymmetric tires are known for this. My understanding is that the best feature on a tire to minimize wandering at highway speed is a continuous center rib. Asymmetric tires don't have this since they are obviously asymmetric.
I should state that I have the 19inch M Sport wheels. The run flats lasted about 30k, good luck getting 60k. Regarding sidewall softness, while an issue with the previous model, the new DWS06 has a stiffer sidewall. Comparison wise, I rate the Continental 1st, stock rf second, and Pirelli P Zero a distant 3rd.ymmv
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I hope these ones last 60K too because I put 59K on my previous Conti runflats. If I wanted, I could put additional 5K on them but I decided to replace them. I rate Conti first too but the run-flat ones not DWS06 which were also 2016 production.
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I thought the same as you. I took my car for an alignment at BMW dealership. My car's specifics were very very close to the factory settings so there was nothing wrong with the alignment.
I stated my vehicle, and wasn't looking to start a argument. Like someone posted, match the tire with the car and driver and geography. If, and when I had a 330cic, I ran rfs, the sport suspension would beat me up. I'm probably a bit older than you. As for these 'squirelly' observations, it could be as simple as too much pressure at what was stated as high speed. Pneumatic tires will lose contact area if overinflated, which is aggravated with sustained high speed driving. The comparison between a low slung 328 and an X3 M Sport is apples and oranges.
Yes, my OEM were Michellin Rfs, and while they handled well, they stink if you drive on anything not smooth. This is not an issue for those who are willing to give up comfort for a bit more stability during aggressive driving. Not an issue with me anymore.
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The squirrely behavior occurs at lower pressures, where the sidewalls are not adequately stiff to resist the lateral loads. Increasing the air pressure increases the sidewall stiffness "enough" to minimize the squirrely behavior. I am not describing a tire that is losing contact with the road surface but one that has sidewall deformation under lateral load.
The AS3+ is better in wet and dry but not quite up to the DWS06 in the winter. If you don't have snow to contend with the AS3+ handles like a performance tire.
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